


The King has come

by Lumau



Category: Shades of Magic - V. E. Schwab
Genre: Death, Gen, Post-Canon Fix-It, Someday King, Songfic, Still very sad, acol spoilers, but a little bit better, gets to experience the fruits of his sacrifice, inspired by Blue Skies by Birdy, the end of ACOL just needed another little moment, this is the absolute minimum Holland deserved, warnings for
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-16
Updated: 2021-01-16
Packaged: 2021-03-14 05:14:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28790070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lumau/pseuds/Lumau
Summary: ''As Holland’s body started to grow cold, slowly his mind began to detach itself from its old, heavy vessel.He was aware of it. But there was no sadness in the realisation.What was left of him filled with an all encompassing peace unlike anything he had ever felt during his lifetime.''
Comments: 3
Kudos: 9





	The King has come

_inspired by the song[Blue Skies by Birdy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYw1e_99PUs)_

* * *

The last air left Holland’s lungs.

And then, at last, the world breathed in.

Everything ended. And a new season began.

Holland did not open his eyes again to see the fallen leaves turn brown and crumble, just as the trees above him put forth new buds.

He would never open his eyes again. They were much too tired.

And he did not have to.

The forest sprouting back to life all around him reverberated in every fibre of his being.

As Holland’s body started to grow cold, slowly his mind began to detach itself from its old, heavy vessel.

He was aware of it. But there was no sadness in the realisation.

What was left of him filled with an all encompassing peace unlike anything he had ever felt during his lifetime.

_Blue skies smiling at me  
Nothing but blue skies, all I see_

_  
Blue birds singing a song  
Nothing but blue skies, from now_

No clouds cloaked the sun anymore, its rays bright and warming the frozen bones of the Silver Wood.  
The sky shone a deep shade of blue that the land of Makht had not seen for centuries.

The blue of Kell’s eye, as he left him here a moment, an eternity ago.

Memories unravelled from Holland’s conscience.

What had seemed never ending in life, now fleeting and already distant and unimportant.

Images and emotions, faint and intangible. Brief moments edged in time, soon to be forgotten.

Some stood out in a bright flash of light, others buried and damned to vanish in darkness.

_I never saw the sun shining so bright  
Never saw things going so right_

_Noticing the days hurrying bad  
When you're in love, oh my how they fly_

The weakness that had taken over his body after giving up his power.

Osaron, the inheritor and the flourishing of his kingdom.

Ojka. Black London.

Fighting Kell. The relief when he was finally free of the seal that bound him.

Astrid and Athos Dane. The countless crimes and injuries inflicted by and to his body.

Vortalis. His friend, his king. The will to set things right.

Talya. The fleeting bliss of love, hope and connection.

Years of search, struggle and desperation.

His brother, Alox. The river Sijlt, carrying with it the red of his own blood.

The magic responding to his calls, and the fear it would never be enough.

Watching the world around him die a little more every day.

The tales of the Someday King.

_  
But blue days, all of them gone  
Nothing but blue skies, from now_

_Blue skies smiling at me  
Nothing but blue skies, all I see_

Holland knew that this body would never heal again. Neither would the wounds to his soul.

But it did not matter. No scars would form anymore.

His mind frayed out more and more.  
Soon there would be nothing left that reminded of the white _Antari._

The river flowed faster through the grove, as the ice melted.

The earth warmed and the soil softened.  
  
The spirit that had been Holland sensed every movement of all the microscopic lifeforms awakening and the tingle of the immanent power resurfacing, the magic that had fled into the earth a long time ago.

Already forgotten sounds of animals resounded now throughout the woods, singing _The King has come_ .

Vivid green leaves were sprouting all around, the crowns of the trees soon coming together to build a roof above the abandoned body sunken against the trunk.

A warm gust of wind let them rustle, chiming in with the voices all around, passing on the tale of the sacrifice the king had given _._

_  
Blue birds singing a song  
Nothing but blue skies, from now_

_But blue days, all of them gone  
Nothing but blue skies, from now_

The spirit took in the scene for a final time, before shifting the last remnants of its conciousness up towards the blue sky, where the sun shone brighter than ever through the canopy of leaves.  
  
For a moment, a flock of birds cast a shadow in front of it, before they swarmed out and carried the tidings in all directions of the reviving world.

_The King has come._

**Author's Note:**

> Songwriters: Irving Berlin  
> Blue Skies lyrics © Berlin Irving Music Corp., Irving Berlin Music Corp, Irving Berlin, Inc., Irving Berlin Inc


End file.
